Cotton-boll-ripening apparatus



July 3, 1923. 1,460,555

W. MORAVA COTTON BOLL RIPENING APPARATUS Filed Juiy 19. 1920 WITNESS A JN VENTO/e 45A TTORNE Y6 Patented July 3, 1923.

UNITED N'sr COTTON-BOLLRIPENING ArrARA'rUsQ'-, i y i Y A To all wiz-m it may concer/n by'mech'anic'al assistance to their` discharge,y so that, the pile subsiding-vas the rripened Be it known that I, I/VnNsnL MORAVA, a citizen of` the, United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook andthe State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in- Cotton-Boll- Ripening Apparatus, of which the followf, ing is a specification, reference. being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part thereof.- j

lThe purpose of this invention is toprovide a process and an apparatus for ripening cotton bolls which are gathered before the bolls are/operato cause them to open for separation `of the fiber. vThe process consistsin the steps described andv set out in the claims for the process, and the 'inventionin the apparatus consists in theelements and feature of construction shown and described, as indicated in the claims. n v,

`The process of ripeningthe` cottonffbolls which constitutes that partVof-thisinvention, consists in accumulating and confining thebolls ina pile which is adaptedy 'to be replenished at the top, and diminished by discharge ofthe bolls laterally from the bottom, supplying heat. underneath the pile toripen the bolls at vthe bottomjof the pile, and facilitating their discharge 'laterally from under the bottom ofthe Apile yasthey are thus ripenedfand expanded, thatzis' to say, supplementing the tendencyl of their expension to discharge the bolls laterally,

bolls are discharged from the bottomk and being replenished at the top, the process may be a continuous one', so long asv the sup-v ply of bolls to be ripened lasts.

In the drawings there is shown an apparatus for practicing this process.

Figure l is a vertically axial section of a receptacle equipped with 'the means constituting this invention, and for practicing the process described.

Figure 2 is a section at the line, 2 2, on Figure l.

The receptacle, l, is preferably frustoconical in form as shown, open at 'the top for receiving the bolls with which the receptacle is to be charged, and having at the bottom a short cylindrical terminal portion, 2, in which at a few inches below the end of the conioally tapered part there is positioned a perforated bottom, 3, which is preferably, as shown, conical or frusto-conifr a lwENsnL MoRAVA, or onrcnofo,` ILLIiioIs'QV i Application mea Juiy 19, 1920. 4 serial No. 3557,52?.

cal, co-axial with' theilfrusto-conical, tacle, l. In the portion of the cylindricall bottoml member, 2, extending-:above the plane `of junctionvof the perforated ybottomtherewith, there arefprovided'l a plurality of discharge openings, 4,4, 4,4, for which closures, 5, 5,5, v5, -may beprovvidedajadapt.-`

ed to' be securedin closed position yand" opened atwill as by sliding up in guide A'Waysf as showmfor discharging the material.- iFrom the -lowermargin of vthese openings, 4, 4, 4, fs;-

4, there is extended. the frusto-conical shed-l ding 1 1P, 6', 21ndu onl'lthis hpthere are mount# edguide ang'es,'7, 7, convergingfromthe 70. remote-end of the two consecutive openings at 4eachsideof a vertical diametric :plane off'the device,'to a commondischarge chute,

8, so thatfthe.material/discharge :fromith'ev four openings, 4, 4, 4, 4,1isgathered intOLtwo recepticles, l9, 9, towhich said chutes,`,8, 8,

discharge.

In the base around the bottom-of 'the' structure sothat thewarm lair from .around these .pipesfyiS forated rb'ottom. `Y -V f Thefmodev of use offthis.' apparatus is .that

the :unopened: cotton bolls 'which'k are. 'to-,be ripened or dried out so as to cause them to open, are laccuniulated in the receptacle which isy charged through the top opening;

"of .the structure below .thel conical bottom, v3, there is located any` suit-v the kdrawings by steamer hot water circuj n perature may be maintained.l 'The bottom, l l.

is-.preferably perforated and airinlets areA l.

circiilatedup through the fperforationseof the bottom to affect the bolls which form the bottom of "the pile 'resting upon" .s'aiolv perla, the `receptacle being filled to any desired height or to any height found most effective in respect to applying properweight and avoiding excessive weight ofthe superincumbent quantity upon the portion at the bottom of the pile, resting immediately upon the bottom ofvthereceptacle, 'and with v respect to obtaining proper ventilationy through the pile for the circulation-of the warm air upward. At -the beginning` of Y l the operation, the closures, 5,v of the dis-. charge opening, 4, will be closed for an adequate length ofl time to permit the ripen-4 ing of the bolls atthe lower part. After a certain length of time, which will vary.

' according toy the condition of the bolls from i a few .hours to an entire day. or more, the closures, 5', may be opened and the bolls allowed to escape as they will to some extent under the pressure of` a super-incumbent quantity. It may be found under some conditions that the bolls become interlocked b y the pressure to such an extent that they will not be discharged by gravity upon the Vopening of the doors, 5, and there is therefore provided I'al discharging device Yconsisting f a shaft, 16, journaled vertically in the bottom member, 3, and emerging at the centerthereof, that is, at the apex when the bottom is of conical form, a lower journal bearing being provided at 17, and means for rotating it from the outside, as, for example,`by a bevel gear, 18on the lower end of the shaft, 16, connecting with a bevel gear, 19,. on the inner end of a horizontal shaft, 20, at the outer end of which there may be secured means for rotating it, as a crank, 21, or a belt-driven pulley, 22. To the upper end of the shaft above the bottom `member, 3, there are secured sweeps, 25. which extend out along the upper surface ofthe bottom,v'3.-y trending from the shaft outward and back in the direction of rotation of th'e shaft, s'o that as the shaft rotates, the sweeps crowd the material lying on the bottom outward along said bottom to the discharge apertures, 4.

1. An apparatus for ripening cotton bolls, comprising a vertically-extended receptacle for containing a pile of the bolls; a heating means at the bottom of the receptacle; the receptacle having a charging opening at theA tp and a discharging opening at the bottom, and means for facilitating the dischargev of the boils from the bottom of the pile under the super-incumbent weight thereof.

2I'n the construction defined in claim 1 foregoing, the receptacle being tapered nar* rowing from the vbottom upward, and a tapered spreading device, centrally situated at foregoing, the discharge-facilitating means comprising a rotary discharge device mounted for rotation horizontally at the plane of the discharge openings.

v5. In the construction defined in claim l foregoing, the discharge-facilitating means comprising a rotary discharge device mounted for/rotation horizontally at the plane of the discharge openings, and comprising sweeps deflected from the center of rotation outward and backward with respect to the direction of rotation, for giving the material an upward movement by means of the rotary movement of the sweeps.

6. vIn the construction defined in claim 1 foregoing, the receptacle having a perforated bot-tom, the discharge openings being above the bottom, and the heating means being located below said perforated bottom.

7. In the construction defined in claim 1 foregoing, the bottom of the receptacle being substantially conical for deflecting the material voutwardly from the pile toward the discharge opening.

8. In the construction defined in claim 1 foregoing, the bottom of the receptacle being substantially conical for deecting the material outwardly-from the bottom ofthe pile toward the discharge opening. and a rotaryy sweep having its shaft at the cone axis, 'and sweep arms extending along the conical slope, each with a trend rearward with respect to the directionof rotation of the sweeps.

In testimony whereof, I have vhereunto set mv hand at Chicago, Illinois, this 13th 

